Visions for ICT, Ethics, and the Practice of Teachers
by Nordkvelle & Olson (WebCT) Thesis ·“There is a need to inculcate ‘technology’ as an ordinary part of teachers’ vocabulary about their own work and as a part of their professional ethos.” (Nordkvelle & Olsen, 2005) Additionally, “It would serve teachers well if they had a more robust ability to communicate the nature of the difficulties they face and how they deal with them.” Visions of ICT – History ·For the last 30 years, many business and governmental leaders have claimed that ICT has a wholly positive effect on education. “It was merely a matter of time before the machine would more or less replace the teacher.” (Nordkvelle & Olson, 19) ·Recently, scholars have begun to study the ethics of ICT in education. “The technological revolution is not a matter of distinguishing technologies from the ways in which we use them, because our technologies are the way we use them.” (Nordkvelle & Olson, 20) ·Historically, visions of ICT have come from outside of school and originate from impatience with school. The Industrial Revolution, business automation, and ideas of “efficiency” have contributed greatly to the infusion of technology into the classroom. ·There has been a push from outside of school for students to work one-on-one with a computer. Classroom discussion lead by a teacher is viewed by non-teachers as “inefficient.” Visions for ICT – Ethics ·The ethical movement in ICT has been driven by the idea that, “Computers allow us to do what we did before only more so – so if we did not do well before ICT we may well do worse with it. Or we may do better.” ·Visions for ICT ethics focus on “the capacity of computers to monitor and manage the instructional process.” ·Computer-managed instruction has taken precedence over computer-aided instruction. What this means is that educators are now using computers to track data about student learning. This data is being used to evaluate how to best use computers. Before, computer-aided instruction assumed that computers and ICT had a wholly positive impact on learning. The connection between ICT and administrator decision-making is a growing trend. ·Ethical debates surrounding ICT ask the questions, “Is computer-managed instruction agonistic to teachers?”(25) Is it ethical for administrators to force software programs on teachers? ·Teachers are asking the question, “What aspects of instruction does ICT promote? Visions of ICT – Teacher Practices ·Non-teacher groups put pressure on teachers to adopt their visions of ICT. ·Teachers respond by using the aspects of ICT that fit within existing instructional routines. Teachers also continue to use a whole-class, discussion format rather than the one student-one computer approach. ·The positive impact of ICT on learning and instruction can be maximized in a number of ways. The concept of “teacher professionalism” must be maximized. Teachers must communicate as much as possible about the pluses and minuses of technology in the classroom. Teachers need to build a professional staff culture. By constantly reflecting on their practices with one another, they will be able to establish technological norms. A diverse group of teachers that includes “boosters, doomsters, and critics” can establish teaching norms by openly communicating. Finally, teachers must be ready to actively change their practices when they find something isn’t working in the classroom.
Key Terms
ICT: "Information and Communication Technologies." ICT also refers to the different methods of communicating and processing information.
Teacher Professionalization: An expansion of the teacher's role in education. The idea that teachers should be a central part in the formation of educational policy and school development. (Nordkvelle & Olson, 26) Also known as "The Reflective Teacher Movement."
Computer-Aided Instruction: The 1980's philosophy that technology was a "tool" that would replace teachers. Technology was viewed as something completely positive. It was thought that the more technology that a teacher had in their classroom, the more the students would learn. The vision put forth by this ideology was the replacement of group learning in favor of one-student, one computer forms of learning.
Underline
Computer-Managed Instruction: The philosophy that a teacher should utilize technology to both help students learn, but also gather information on student learning. In contrast to computer-aided instruction, computer-managed instruction does not assume technology has a totally positive effect on education. This philosophy emphasizes the use of computers for gathering information about policy decisions.
Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Integrated Learning Systems (ILS): These names refer to software programs that monitor and track learning/training sessions. Connect to Other Readings ICT has shown up in many of our previous articles. Here are just a few connections. Burbules and Callister (Reader): "One is to view technologies as tools, things to use to accomplish specific purposes: a coffee-maker makes coffee...we never use technologies to change our surroundings without being changed ourselves...we will call this a 'relational' view of technology." Vrasidias and Glass (Reader): “Teachers tend to teach as they were taught. If teachers are expected to teach using ICT, they should be taught by teacher educators who use ICT and who structure their courses so as to model expert ICT approaches in teaching.” Parker (WebCT): “the media teacher was not always consistent with overseeing that students attend to their work. Even when Ms. de Silva demanded that students focus on their videos, with an average of fifteen student projects, she had to attend to the immediate needs to students who were working…students were expected to produce films in order to pass the class and many students came during lunch and after school…”
by Nordkvelle & Olson (WebCT)
Thesis
· “There is a need to inculcate ‘technology’ as an ordinary part of teachers’ vocabulary about their own work and as a part of their professional ethos.” (Nordkvelle & Olsen, 2005) Additionally, “It would serve teachers well if they had a more robust ability to communicate the nature of the difficulties they face and how they deal with them.”
Visions of ICT – History
· For the last 30 years, many business and governmental leaders have claimed that ICT has a wholly positive effect on education. “It was merely a matter of time before the machine would more or less replace the teacher.” (Nordkvelle & Olson, 19)
· Recently, scholars have begun to study the ethics of ICT in education. “The technological revolution is not a matter of distinguishing technologies from the ways in which we use them, because our technologies are the way we use them.” (Nordkvelle & Olson, 20)
· Historically, visions of ICT have come from outside of school and originate from impatience with school. The Industrial Revolution, business automation, and ideas of “efficiency” have contributed greatly to the infusion of technology into the classroom.
· There has been a push from outside of school for students to work one-on-one with a computer. Classroom discussion lead by a teacher is viewed by non-teachers as “inefficient.”
Visions for ICT – Ethics
· The ethical movement in ICT has been driven by the idea that, “Computers allow us to do what we did before only more so – so if we did not do well before ICT we may well do worse with it. Or we may do better.”
· Visions for ICT ethics focus on “the capacity of computers to monitor and manage the instructional process.”
· Computer-managed instruction has taken precedence over computer-aided instruction. What this means is that educators are now using computers to track data about student learning. This data is being used to evaluate how to best use computers. Before, computer-aided instruction assumed that computers and ICT had a wholly positive impact on learning. The connection between ICT and administrator decision-making is a growing trend.
· Ethical debates surrounding ICT ask the questions, “Is computer-managed instruction agonistic to teachers?”(25) Is it ethical for administrators to force software programs on teachers?
· Teachers are asking the question, “What aspects of instruction does ICT promote?
Visions of ICT – Teacher Practices
· Non-teacher groups put pressure on teachers to adopt their visions of ICT.
· Teachers respond by using the aspects of ICT that fit within existing instructional routines. Teachers also continue to use a whole-class, discussion format rather than the one student-one computer approach.
· The positive impact of ICT on learning and instruction can be maximized in a number of ways. The concept of “teacher professionalism” must be maximized. Teachers must communicate as much as possible about the pluses and minuses of technology in the classroom. Teachers need to build a professional staff culture. By constantly reflecting on their practices with one another, they will be able to establish technological norms. A diverse group of teachers that includes “boosters, doomsters, and critics” can establish teaching norms by openly communicating. Finally, teachers must be ready to actively change their practices when they find something isn’t working in the classroom.
Key Terms
ICT: "Information and Communication Technologies." ICT also refers to the different methods of communicating and processing information.
Teacher Professionalization: An expansion of the teacher's role in education. The idea that teachers should be a central part in the formation of educational policy and school development. (Nordkvelle & Olson, 26) Also known as "The Reflective Teacher Movement."
Computer-Aided Instruction: The 1980's philosophy that technology was a "tool" that would replace teachers. Technology was viewed as something completely positive. It was thought that the more technology that a teacher had in their classroom, the more the students would learn. The vision put forth by this ideology was the replacement of group learning in favor of one-student, one computer forms of learning.
Computer-Managed Instruction: The philosophy that a teacher should utilize technology to both help students learn, but also gather information on student learning. In contrast to computer-aided instruction, computer-managed instruction does not assume technology has a totally positive effect on education. This philosophy emphasizes the use of computers for gathering information about policy decisions.
Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Integrated Learning Systems (ILS): These names refer to software programs that monitor and track learning/training sessions.
Connect to Other Readings
ICT has shown up in many of our previous articles. Here are just a few connections.
Burbules and Callister (Reader): "One is to view technologies as tools, things to use to accomplish specific purposes: a coffee-maker makes coffee...we never use technologies to change our surroundings without being changed ourselves...we will call this a 'relational' view of technology."
Vrasidias and Glass (Reader): “Teachers tend to teach as they were taught. If teachers are expected to teach using ICT, they should be taught by teacher educators who use ICT and who structure their courses so as to model expert ICT approaches in teaching.”
Parker (WebCT): “the media teacher was not always consistent with overseeing that students attend to their work. Even when Ms. de Silva demanded that students focus on their videos, with an average of fifteen student projects, she had to attend to the immediate needs to students who were working…students were expected to produce films in order to pass the class and many students came during lunch and after school…”